New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
"Have one, cousin."
When Harry showed up that afternoon, Dudley was in the middle of lifting a teapot and draining it in one go. Then he casually picked up a biscuit and handed it over.
"Thanks."
Harry took the biscuit and started chewing.
Dudley picked up another and held it out to Hermione.
"Hermione, want one too?"
"I've already eaten, thanks."
Hermione shook her head, pretending disinterest, but her eyes kept drifting toward the biscuits.
Her instincts told her these definitely hadn't come from the Hogwarts kitchen.
"They taste pretty good. Did you make them, D?"
After finishing one and still not feeling full, Harry grabbed a second from Dudley.
"You know I'm not good with sweets. These were given to me by a Slytherin upperclassman."
Dudley picked up another biscuit and started eating.
Neither the tea nor the biscuits had been made by Pansy.
In fact, she had simply found a few older students who were good at baking and asked them to make them for Dudley.
The speaker may not mean much by it... but the listener does.
Suddenly, Hermione asked:
"Dudley, do you really like biscuits that much?"
"Not really. I just like having something to chew on when I'm bored."
After swallowing the last biscuit and hearing the system notification of +2 experience, Dudley narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
Hogwarts didn't have baguettes.
Or rather...
The baguettes at Hogwarts didn't have enough chew to them.
It made him uncomfortable.
Days without something to chew on were honestly tough.
...
The three of them left the castle and crossed a field.
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they spotted a small wooden hut.
That was Hagrid's house.
Hanging beside the door were a crossbow and a pair of rubber boots.
As long as they didn't enter the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts didn't restrict young wizards from walking around the grounds.
Harry knocked on the wooden door.
From inside, they heard a tense struggle, as if something was being restrained, along with a few deep barks.
Then Hagrid's muffled voice came through:
"Back, Fang, back."
With a slight tremor in the ground, the door opened a crack, revealing Hagrid's large, bearded face.
When he saw Harry, Dudley, and Hermione, he lit up with joy.
"I thought you might not come... I mean, you finally came!"
Hagrid spoke awkwardly.
He'd never been good with words.
But it was obvious how happy he was.
As long as certain topics weren't touched, Hagrid was very easy to get along with.
He quickly ushered the three of them inside.
From the outside, it looked like a small hut.
But inside... the space was much larger than it appeared.
Clearly, an Undetectable Extension Charm had been placed on it.
Otherwise, someone Hagrid's size wouldn't have been able to live there comfortably.
"Professor Dumbledore helped me with it. Not bad, eh?"
Hagrid said, a bit shyly.
As soon as they entered, the three of them felt like they had stepped into a giant's home.
Almost everything inside was two or three times larger than normal.
Even Dudley looked like a child sitting on the chair.
As for Harry and Hermione...
Their feet didn't even touch the ground.
Even with the expanded space, the hut was still just one room.
Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling.
A copper kettle boiled over the fire.
In one corner stood a large bed covered with patchwork quilts.
Beside the table lay a large dog that looked quite fierce.
Hagrid's pet.
Fang.
He looked intimidating...
But in reality, he was a coward.
When the three entered, he only lifted his head, glanced at them, and seemed to decide they weren't a threat.
Then he lay back down and continued sleeping.
"This is Hermione."
Harry introduced her.
"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
Hagrid replied while continuing to bustle about.
He poured hot water into a large teapot and placed several "small" stone-shaped biscuits onto a plate, each about the size of a small basin.
In truth...
These "small" biscuits lived up to their appearance.
They had a name that sounded hard...
And were even harder to eat.
Rock cakes.
Harry and Hermione, seeing how warm and welcoming Hagrid was, felt too embarrassed to refuse.
They simply thought they were slightly oversized pastries.
So each of them picked one up and took a bite.
"So hard..."
At the first bite, both of them nearly cracked their back teeth.
It felt like biting into an actual rock.
Harry quietly put his rock cake back.
Hermione tried to do the same...
But Hagrid noticed right at that moment.
"Don't you like it?"
Hagrid looked at Hermione with a pitiful expression.
Those rock cakes were the best thing he had to offer guests.
"I..."
Hermione felt bad about hurting his feelings, but she also didn't want to sacrifice her teeth. She desperately tried to think of something to say that wouldn't upset him.
"Crrk... crrk crrk..."
At that moment, a harsh grinding sound rang out beside them.
For a second, it sounded like someone sharpening knives or sawing wood.
Hermione turned her head, stunned.
It was Dudley chewing.
By now, he had already eaten nearly half of a rock cake.
That...
That went far beyond shock.
In Hermione's mind, her father's words about Dudley's teeth echoed again.
'Those aren't teeth. That's a hydraulic press.'
She had never seen anything he couldn't crush.
She had thought her father was exaggerating.
But he wasn't.
"The taste is really good. I like it."
Dudley calmly finished chewing an entire rock cake and commented, clearly wanting more:
"You've got talent for cooking, Hagrid."
He had found it.
A replacement for baguettes.
His new chewing stick.
It was you...
Rock cake.
"Really? I'm so glad! I thought they didn't turn out well."
Hagrid beamed like a child upon hearing such high praise.
Then his eyes fell on Hermione.
More precisely...
On the rock cake in her hand.
He wanted more reassurance.
"I'm on a diet... Dudley likes these."
Hermione reacted instantly.
She quickly stuffed the rock cake into Dudley's hand—the one she had tried to bite but couldn't, leaving only a faint mark.
That kind of food was definitely not something she could handle.
'I'm brilliant.'
Dudley didn't stand on ceremony either.
One clearly hadn't been enough.
So he took the rock cake Hermione handed him and kept eating.
"I really like the taste."
It was hard to tell whether he meant the food... or something else.
Thinking of something, Hermione's face flushed bright red at a visibly rapid pace.
...
It was just a simple visit.
The three of them happily shared their experiences at Hogwarts, and as dinnertime approached, they said their goodbyes to Hagrid.
Before leaving, Dudley even asked Hagrid for a large bag of rock cakes.
After all, they were his precious chewing sticks.
Seeing his cooking appreciated made Hagrid extremely happy.
But he also felt a bit down that he didn't have anything better to offer them.
Reluctantly, he saw the three of them off.
Was Hagrid poor?
Certainly not.
Dudley absolutely didn't think so.
In fact...
He might be the richest man in Hogwarts.
Don't be fooled by the shabby exterior of Hagrid's home.
Many of the seemingly insignificant items inside were extremely valuable.
For example, the bed Fang was lying on.
It was woven entirely from unicorn hair.
That alone was worth at least several thousand Galleons.
If everything there were sold...
It would likely fetch tens of thousands of Galleons.
Even Dudley started wondering if he should ask for a few things to sell...
And use the money to buy materials for brewing potions.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to add it to your library and drop some Power Stones.
Your support really helps the novel grow!